Utto beta, aankay kolo
Wake up child, open your eyes
Bisthur choro, aur mooh dholo
Leave the bed, and wash your face
Ithna sona teek nahi hain
Its not good to sleep this much
Vukhtha kona teek nahi hain
Wasting all this time is not good
Sooraj mikhla tare baagey
The sun is out. The stars have ran.
Doonya vale sare jaage
The people around the world are all awake
Utto beta, aankay kolo.
Wake up child, open your eyes.
Hadi speaks Urdu, the language this song is in, but he is unable to write it. Instead, he wrote out the Romanized script for me and translated it into English. He learned this song as a boy when his parents would sing it to him growing up in Agoura Hills, CA. His parents learned it in Pakistan, where they are from. He said that this song is sung to wake children up so they will get out of bed in the morning. He told me he still sings it to his little brother to wake him up.
Hadi said that this song is significant in helping children get ready in the morning when they wake up. He said that this song encourages children to not sleep too much because there is so much out in the world that you would not want to miss it. Hadi said that this song helps kids prepare for each new day and to be confident and willing to take on whatever challenges lay ahead of them.
I agree with Hadis analysis, but I also noticed the attention to forming good habits as you grow up. For example, the speaker in the song calls the child to wash their face when they get out of bed to help make themselves clean and presentable. The speaker also says that it is not good to sleep this much and waste time, implying that oversleeping and being late is not responsible. I also like how the speaker tells the child to open their eyes, as if inviting the child to experience the world fully and enjoy the sun that is shining. This song seemed to mean a lot to Hadi, and it is clear because it is a very sweet and endearing song that encourages children to take on the day with a clean face and a new outlook.